Mental wellness startup bags $11 million in seed funding

Mental health facilitator Wisdo is a relatively new startup but its already seeing big results based of demand for overcoming some of life’s toughest mental obstacles. No matter what the issue affecting someone is, Wisdo promises to pair that user with other people in the same boat through its platform in an effort to build community and solidarity.

That’s part of why Wisdo just garnered $11 million in seed funding from a variety of investors.

The app, which can also help users with physical illnesses, was born out of its CEO’s desire to talk through his father’s cancer diagnosis.

“Wisdo grew out of my own personal experience when my father was diagnosed with cancer – I had no experience with cancer and there was no ‘map’ for what I should do next, no one to give me direction,” Wisdo CEO Boaz Gaon said in a statement. “I also understood that this could not possibly be true: there had to be many millions of people who had lived through this exact situation and who could help guide me – I just needed to find them. This was the seed of Wisdo – connecting people around these experiences, finding the everyday wisdom that we all need, sharing the earned wisdom that we all have, building a map for life’s emotional challenges, and giving people insight into what happens next.”

Investors in the app were impressed by its established user count of 500,000.

“Social networks are based on generalized groups of friends and acquaintances where you can’t share openly and honestly about anything,” Richard Klausner, an investor in Wisdo and founder of Juno Therapeutics, said. “Social networks can be a force for good by rewarding empathy and helpfulness, which is why we believe so much in Wisdo’s mission. We want users to not only be open and honest, but move from that to creating human connections, which can improve users’ lives in the long run.”